Mesa Verde Colorado

 

June 6 2024. 

We journeyed through 250 miles of very scenic and often beautiful country as we traveled from Los Alamos New Mexico to Cortez Colorado.  We are camped at Sundance RV Park right in the middle of town. After seeing some run-down campgrounds along the highway, we were very pleased when we pulled into this well-kept RV Park.

Our truck and RV at Sundance RV Park

Our route was all on state highways with speed limits of 55 or 60 MPH. How nice it was not having to keep pace with the interstate train of tractor trailers doing 70+ mph. Leaving New Mexico we traveled north in dry arid terrain. Surprisingly, as we neared Colorado the mountains had trees and all the landscape became green with spring growth.

Panoramic view near the park entrance

Our route in Colorado was almost due west to the southwestern corner of the state. Cortez is the nearest town to Mesa Verde National Park. Mesa Verde has been on Millie’s bucket list for quite some time. In fact she has wanted visit since seeing pictures in school of the ancient Pueblo Indian ruins. 

The main attraction in the park, an ancient Pueblo village

An old friend of mine once told me to keep your gas tank full when driving out west because sometimes it’s a long way between towns. Hwy 84 was like that and I guess that is why the town of  Pagosa Springs was the proverbial oasis in the desert. The one street town was bumper to bumper traffic with no available parking. We passed through the quaint little town thinking we would be skipping lunch when there it was, the Rv’ers all encompassing shopping, eating, refueling, parking and sometimes sleeping destination. Walmart!

The village overlook is a popular stop in the park

Unfortunately, because of the recent surge of visitors to all the western National Parks, access to the ruins is very restricted. Park ranger led guided tours are the only way to actually walk among the cliff dwellings. There was no tour availability for the time we were there, but there is excellent viewing from an area above the ruins. 

These folks were lucky enough to get a spot on one of the ranger tours

We have walked through several different Pueblo ruins in New Mexico and there all very much identical in layout. We were satisfied with the view we had of the iconic ancient village and besides it was a long trek down the rock face of the cliff and it was 97 degrees in the sun.

Typical Mesa and valley in the park

BTW, there are many Pueblo archaeological sites in the park, but many are closed to the public or restricted to ranger led groups. The 40+ mile round trip along the mountain crest road in the park is pretty cool! Highest elevation we saw on the GPS was over 8400 feet, it was a long way down if you missed a curve!